Michael Oher Did you know that Michael Oher was homeless as a child then ended up playing in the Super Bowl? Michael Oher was born to Denise Oher on May 28, 1986. Michael’s mother didn’t earn much income so most nights he would stay at a friends house or sleep on the street, and sadly beg for food at strangers’ houses. Michael described his difficulty with being homeless as, “The winter was cold, but the summer was worse because the heat was so oppressive and the mosquitoes bit all night long”(Lewis 263). This shows us how horrible Michael's childhood was and that he lived in a devastating state of poverty. Michael Oher overcame so many obstacles like poverty, hunger, and not being educated still, he triumphed by successfully playing football …show more content…
Michael’s dad was sent to jail frequently and while Michael was in high school, his father was thrown off a bridge and murdered. Michael’s mother was a drug addict and was in and out of rehab centers. During Michael’s childhood he lived in many different foster homes. Michael was such a horrible student that he even flunked weight lifting class. Michael didn’t care about going to school, in fact in the fourth grade he didn’t show up for about fifty days of a single term. Michael’s teacher described his career as, “He was sensationally absent: forty six days of a single term of his first grade year for instance” (Lewis 46). During his middle school career, Michael was tested for his IQ to see his academic potential. The testing showed that Michael had limitations to his academic potential: The testing proved that, “The boy had measured IQ of 80, which puts him in mankind's 9th precinct tile” (Lewis 45). This showed his teachers how severely learning disabled Michael was to his teachers. Since Michael had failing grades, he was often transferred to different schools. The public school system failed him since, “In his first nine years Michael Oher was instituted in eleven different institutions and that included a whole of eighteen months” (Lewis 45). In Michael’s early life he had no family support and little education and when Michael couldn’t do something for school, he would just give up. Michael had little motivation to succeed due to his
As an introduction, Michael Oher was a famous Black American football player that came from a poor family that consist of thirteen children, an absentee father and an alcoholic plus drug addict mother in the village of Memphis, Tennessee (Bell, 2009). In Michael’s childhood, he did not enjoy any love or caring from his parent as both of them do not want to be in charge of him and
Starting in chapter four, “The Blank Slate”, Michael Oher moves to Briarcrest High School, a wealthy private school. He no longer lives in the slum or poverty stricken neighborhoods he once lived. Now he’s having a human experience, away from the monotony and struggles of a kid from the ghetto. Being as such, he has a tough time adjusting, lacking a base of knowledge of how anything works. For example, when Oher gets
Did you know that before he was a professional football player Michael Oher had a very unique, underprivileged early life, and was born into a terrible circumstance? He says, “It's true that we can't help the circumstances we're born into and some of us start out in a much tougher place than other people. But just because we started there doesn't mean we have to end there” (Biography.com). Michael’s mom was a drug addict, and his dad was murdered in prison. He was in a bunch of foster homes, but when he was 16, he was taken in by a family named the Tuohy’s, which changed his entire life. Despite Michael Oher being a foster child, being split from his siblings and mother, and facing many more hardships in his early life, he still
The life outcome that Wes Moore, the author, had was different from the other Wes More. He was doing bad in his education as well with his interactions with the family. Every teacher declared that Wes was a poor student and was unmotivated to pay attention in class. The teachers came to conclusion that Wes had a problem socializing, however; Wes “was a victim of a monocultural educational environment that alienates and denigrates him” (Sue, 230). The school staff was unable to see that the problem existed within the institution/ environment and not on Wes, because they were focusing only in one culture which made Wes feel as an outsider. The
Do you know what if feels like to live in a household with fourteen other people? Do you know how it feels now knowing if you whether or not you will have a roof over your head while you are sleeping the next day? When you live in this type of known environment, it is hard to do make it out become successful in life. All odds were against a man named Michael Jerome Williams growing up in these same situations and circumstances. Michael Oher was a young homeless boy that was adopted and turned himself around. Childhood for Michael Oher was living in a small home and being one of twelve children. He lived in the worst part of Memphis Tennessee, he never knew his father. He did not receive much care as a child as his mother was an alcoholic and his father spent most of his time in prison. When Michael was in high school his father was killed while in the prison. His mother was addicted to cocaine since Michael was born and he and his siblings began to separate at an early age. Oher failed in first and second standards and had to change many schools. Some were sent to foster homes, some stayed with friends and others lived on the streets. Unfortunately, Michael was in and out of foster homes and ultimately was homeless. He was basically on his own from the beginning of his life. He does not think of himself as being tough just trying to get by, to survive. He had friends who were as determined as he was to get out. He had brothers and sisters who helped keep him
As summer football practice begins, readers are introduced to the notable players of the 1988 Permian Panthers; Boobie Miles, Jerrod McDougal, Mike Winchell, and Brian Chavez. We are introduced first to James Earl “Boobie” Miles Jr., the team’s all-star running back. Boobie lived a very hard life from the start. At the age of three his mother moved to Oklahoma and left Boobie with his grandmother. He lived for a short time with his father, but allegations of physical abuse resulted in a lifetime of being bounced from foster home to foster home. Before Boobie started high school, his uncle, L.V. Miles, adopted him giving him a stable home and a positive role model. Influenced by his uncle, Boobie began to excel at sports, especially football. Football provided another “home” where Boobie got the kind of attention and admiration that led to opportunities someone from his background didn't typically get a full ride scholarship to college. He also gained a lot of attention for his attitude that was that nobody was as talented as he was. In the book Boobie is constantly quoted in the book as saying, “Put Boobie in if you wanna win” (Bissinger, Buzz). Next we are introduced to small offensive lineman
The main character Micheal Oher’s, who is introduced to us through his rough life growing up. Micheal never knew his father and his mother was a drug addict. HIs mother gave birth to a total of fifteen children, who of course due to her drug addiction raised themselves basically. Michael spent his teenage years running away from a string of foster homes and situations. Michael got tired of foster care
For Peter Cameron’s short story,“Homework”, Michael seeks an answer to the meaning of life. Michael is a depressed teenager, like Donny from Anne Tyler’s short story, “Teenage Wastelands”.
Summary: Michael Oher was a young boy who had to go through rough times as he was growing up. Fatheralong, Oher was taken in by the Tuohy family after they saw Oher didn’t have a home or anyone to go to for help. Once Oher gained the love of the Tuohy family, he became their adopted son, and soon he became the star football player of Briarcrest Christian School (BiJog). He became an interest to many colleges and after high school, he attended University of Mississippi.
Michael was brought up in poor project housing that was consumed by drugs, alcohol, and gangs. He was pushed in and out of foster homes forcefully being separated from his mother and siblings. As the movie showed in harsh flashbacks, Michael is deeply affected by the forceful separation from his mother. This constant absence from the mother or other supportive figures leaves Michael unable to make a secure attachment to any strong base. Erikson’s stage of trust versus mistrust is displayed due to Michael’s inability to count on the kindness and compassion of others which leads him to withdraw from his surroundings (p 248). This abrupt memory in life affects Michael in his idea of family and commitment. The harsh environment also kept Michael from attending school, and the times he did there was no support for him to even try in school.
In the book entitled Out of Their League, David Meggyesy describes his life as a football player from high school through his days with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Born in 1941, Meggyesy was raised in a low-income household in Solon, Ohio. Like many athletes from impoverished backgrounds, he was able to use the game of football to better himself though both a full scholarship to Syracuse University and financial stability with the Cardinals. During his career, however, Meggyesy became increasingly disillusioned with the game of football and how its athletes were subject to tremendous physical and psychological turmoil from those in
As he receives all these gifts, he becomes more comfortable with his friends and surroundings at home and at school as well. He tested in the 98 percentile under “protective instincts”. This can be seen not only on test papers, but also in near-death situations such as stopping the airbag from killing SJ and protecting Mrs. Tuohy from the gangsters in his hometown. Every other subject his teachers have tested him in, he has failed miserably. Therefore, Mrs. Tuohy hired a tutor, Miss Sue, to help Michael get better grades and learn more efficiently in school. Other than schoolwork, Oher has grown into a great football player as well; he has learned to play his position at left tackle, protecting the quarterback’s blind side.
In early life and school Michael was the model son and pupil. He was more familiar with PE ratios than dead arms, said 'Whom' instead of 'Who' and was noticeably pleased when disruptive individuals were sent to the office. He was destined to do well and appeared to have only one weakness – no sense of fashion.
As an example, I will talk briefly about my cousin, born into a broken home and forced to deal with illiteracy on a daily basis. Steven was brought up in a bad neighborhood and raised by the streets. His family simply didn’t care about anything other than how they would afford their next bottle of booze or pack of cigarettes. Growing up, he was never told he had to go to school; therefore, he only went on occasion. His lack of schooling in his younger years took its toll on him by the time he hit high school. Living in a bad neighborhood and brought up by gangs, Steven’s life was in a bad condition.
At the beginning of the movie, Michael is a new student starting at Wingate Christian High School. During the review of his application, the school board discovers Michael is currently holding a 0.6 GPA and scored a below-average 80 IQ on the Standard-Binet Intelligence test. The average score is 85-115. Without the support of the school’s football coach, who sees athletic potential in Michael, the school board most likely would have turned him away. Throughout